Wrist watch strap



Feb. 12,, 1946. D. B. HICKMAN WRIST WATCH STRAP Filed Feb. 10,- 1944 2Sheets-Sheet 1 mid/41am.

Feb. 12, 1946. D. B. HICKMAN I I WRI-ST WATCH STRAP Filed Feb. 10; 19442 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Feb. 12, 1946 UNITED STATES PATENT ,OFFICE2,394,856 WRIST WATCH swam}? Darold B. Hickman, North A'ttlboro, 'Mass.Application February 10, 194-4., serial No. 521,861

7 Claims.

This invention relates to a watch strap and more particularly tov anextensible wrist strap which has a connecting portion between the freeends thereof so that the strap may be unbuckled without entirely freeingthe watch and strap from the wrist to prevent dropping of the watchwhile the sameis being placed on the wrist or removed therefrom. j

The connecting portion between the free ends of the strap of the presentinvention allows the strap to be extended :so that the strap and watchmay beslipped over the hand but does not interfere with the operation ofa conventional strap buckle, as the connectin'gportion is provided withcut away portions for enabling thetohgue or the buckle to'be engaged inthe usual holes in the other end of the strap. It is therefore an objectofthe present i" vention to provide an improved extensible strap for awrist watch.

Another object of the invention is to provide an extensible strap for awrist watch in which a connecting portion extending between the freeends of the strap is formed to enable buckling of the strap withoutinterference by the connecting portion.

A further object of the invention is to provide an extensible fabric orleather wrist watch strap having a conventional buckle attached to oneend thereof and provided with a connecting portion which extends betweenthe buckle end of the strap and the other end thereof so as to enablebuckling of the strap without interference by the connecting portion.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will appear in thefollowing description of the preferred embodiments thereof shown on theattached drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the wrist watch having a strap inaccordance with the present invention attached thereto. 1

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary plan view of the strap of Fig. 1 showing thestrap partly buckled.

Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the'structure of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a View similar to 2 showing the strap completely buckled.

Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. .2 on an enlarged scale showing -amodified structure.

Fig. 6 is an elevation of a further modified type of strap.

7 is a fragmentary perspective view of a further modified watch strap. i

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary ,plan view. of strap of Fig. 7 showing the strappartly'buckle'tl:

Fig. 9 is a View similar to Fig. 8 showing the strap :of Fig. '7completely buckled.

Fig. :10 is a fragmentary elevation of the apertured end of the strap ofFig. 7 on an enlarged scale; and

Fig. 11 is a fragmentary plan View of the portion of the strap shown inFig. 10.

Referring more particularly to the drawings,

the strap, of the present invention may have one portion H) provided,with apertures or perforations H and another portion l2 provided withabuckle l3, having a conventional tongue M for engagement in theapertures H. Each of the port-ions Ill and I2 have one end attached to awrist watch 16 in' any known or suitable manner such as by pins l'lextending through loops l8 .in the strap. The particular strap shown isrprovided with two thicknesses of leather or fabric sewn together, forexample, by the stitches l9 to provide the loops l8 at the end of thestrap, although any other suitable type of strap, such as a singlethickness strap having appropriately formed loops or other attachingmeans thereon, may be employed.

The free .end of the portion |ll has one end of a connecting portion 2|secured thereto in any desired manner, for example, by stitching 22preferably with the end of the portion 2| terminating flush with thefree end of the portion Ill. The connecting portion 2| preferablyextends rearwardly along the portion ID to provide a 'tip 23 which maybe easily inserted in and passed through the loop of the buckle l3. Theother end of the connecting portion 2| is attached to "the buckle end ofthe strap, for example, by the stitching 24 so as to extend generally inthe same direction as the buckle end of the portion l2. The connectingportion 2 I, as shown in Fig. 1, has a slot 26 formed therein forreception of the tongue M of the buckle as more clearly shown in Fig. 3.The tip end 23 of the portion ID of the strap may be introduced throughthe loop in the buckle l3 in the usual manner as "shown in Fig. 2 andthe tongue M of the buckle inserted through the slot 26 in the portion2| -into an aperture H 'inthe portion l0. As shown in Fig. 4, the end 23may then be inserted through the keeper loop 21 carried by the portionI2. The connecting portion 2|, as shown in Figs. 2 and 4, forms a smallfold inside of the apertured portion Hi and by making the portion 2| ofrelatively thinmaterial, this portion does not unduly thicken the wristwatch strap.

Withmost thin leather or-textile materials :no trouble is experiencedini'operating the strap of Figs. 1 to 4 so as to cause the portion 2| toassume the fold shown in Figs. 2 and 4, but with certain materials whichtake a permanent set, it has been found that the portion 2| tends topull through the buckle and fold between the portions l2 and Illintermediate the buckle I 3 and keeper loop 21, resulting in a bulkyconnection between the free ends of the strap. This can be prevented bythe structure shown in Fig. 5, in which a member 3| of relatively stiffmaterial is attached to the buckle portion l2 so as to underlie thebuckle l3. With this structure the extensible portion 2| is prevented byfrictional engagement with the member 3| from pulling through the loopof the buckle l3 and is caused to assume a fold such as that shown inFigs. 2 and 4. The member 3| may be made of any suitable relativelystiff material such as stiff leather, fabric board, or thin metal. Thismember does not in any way interfere with the insertion of the end 23 ofthe portion l through the loop of the buckle as the loop of the buckle i3 is pivoted about its pin 32.

Although the slotted construction of the connecting portion 2|, shown inFigs. 1 to 4, is preferred, other types of connecting portions such asthat shown at 33 in Fig. 6 may be employed, particularly with othertypes of buckles, such as the buckle 34 of Fig. 6 having two tongues 36.Thus the connecting portion 33 may be a single narrow leather or fabricmember having one end attached to the free end of an apertured straportion 31 having two rows of apertures 38 for reception of the tongues36 of the buckle. The connecting portion 33 may be secured to the strap31 in any suitable manner such as by the stitching 39 and to the buckleportion 4| in any desired manner such as by the stitching 42. Theextensible portion 33 shown in Fig. 6 will form a fold beneath the endof the strap 3'! in the same manner as the connecting portion 2| ofFigs. 2 and 4, and if desired, a guide member such as shown at 3! inFig. may also be employed with the modified structure of Fig. 6. In anyevent it will be apparent that the connecting portions of the variousmodifications of the strap shown are laterally spaced from the tongue ortongues of the buckles to enable the straps to be buckled.

A further modified strap, which has certain advantages over the strapspreviously described is shown in Figs. '7 to 9. In these figures theconnecting portion 43 extending between the apertured end 44 of thestrap and the buckle end 46 thereof has one end secured to the strap end44 in any suitable manner such as by stitching 4'5 and its other end 48secured to a slidable loop as embracing the buckle end 46 of the strap.A particularly effective manner of attaching the connecting portion43 tothe apertured end 44 of the strap is shown in Figs. and 11. The innerlayer 5! of the strap is slitted at 52 and the end of the connectinmember 43 inserted under the portion'53 of the inner layer 51 and heldby the stitching 4'! Referring to Figs. 7 to 9, the loop 49 slides onthe buckle end 46 of the strap and is held thereon by the buckle I3 sothat the ends 44 and 46 or" the strap are at all times comiectedtogether by the connecting portion 43. In applyin the strap to the wristthe hand'is' first inserted through the opening inthe strap when theends are in a position similar to that shown in Fig. 7. The end 44 ofthe strap is then inserted through the loop of the buckle l3 and thestrap tightened in the usual manner. The tongue I4 of the buckle is theninserted through the slot in the connecting member 43 and then throughan aperture H in the strap end 44. The loop 49 is then moved away fromthe buckle l3 into the position shown in Fig. 8. This movement tensionsthe connecting portion 43 to remove any fold which may have formedtherein and positions the loop 49 for reception of the end 44 of thestrap. The end 44 is then inserted into the loop 49 so as to occupy theposition shown in Fig. 9, the loop 43 serving as both a slidableconnection for the connecting member 43 and as a keeper loop for thestrap end 44. It will be apparent that the type of connecting member andbuckle shown in Fig. 6 can also be adapted to the structure of Figs. 7to 11 by providing a sliding loop on the buckle end of the strap insteadof fixedly securing the connecting member to the buckle end of thestrap.

While I have disclosed the preferred embodiments of my invention, it isunderstood that the details thereof may be varied within the scope ofthe following claims.

I claim:

1. An extensible Wrist watch strap comprising two flexible portionsconnected to said wrist watch, the free end of one of said portionsbeing provided with a buckle having a loop and a tongue and the free endof the other portion being provided with apertures for receiving thetongue of said buckle, a connecting strap portion having its endsconnected to said free ends of said strap portions so as to pass throughsaid loop when the strap is buckled, said portion being provided with aslot through which the tongue of said buckle can extend when said strapis buckled.

2. An extensible Wrist watch strap comprising a flexible strap having atongue and free ends, one provided with a buckle having a loop adaptedto receive the other of said free ends, a flexible connecting strapelement extending between said free ends and being secured to said freeends, said flexible element having a portion extending through the loopof said buckle and spaced laterally from said tongue when said other ofsaid free ends is received in said loop and having another portionfolding within said strap, said strap having means to prevent saidlast-mentioned portion from passing through said loop.

3. An extensible wrist watch strap comprising a flexible strap havingfree ends, one provided with a buckle having a loop adapted to receivethe other of said free ends, a flexible connecting strap elementextending between said free ends and being secured to said free ends,said flexible element having a portion extending through the loop ofsaid buckle when said other of said free ends is received in said loopand having another portion folding within said strap, said buckle havinga tongue for engagement in an aperture in said other end of said strapand said connecting element'having a cut away portion registering withsaid aperture for passage of said tongue.

4. An extensible wrist watch strap cprnprising two flexible portions,each having one end provided with means for attachment to a wrist watch,the other end of one of said portions being provided with a'bucklehaving a tongue, and r the other end of the other portion havingapertures for reception of said tongue and a flexible connecting strapmember extending between said other ends of said portions and having aconnecting portion spaced laterally from said tongue to provide for thebuckling of said strap without interference by said connecting portion,a loop slidably embracing said one portion of said strap and beingretained thereon by said buckle, said connecting member having one endsecured to said loop.

5. An extensible wrist watch strap comprising two flexible portionsconnected to said wrist Watch, the free end of one of said portionsbeing provided with a buckle having a tongue and the free end of theother portion being provided with apertures for receiving the tongue ofsaid buckle, a connecting strap portion having its ends connected tosaid free ends of said strap portions and being provided with a slotthrough which the tongue of said buckle can extend when said strap isbuckled, a loop slidably embracing said one portion and being retainedthereon by said buckle, said connecting member having one end secured tosaid loop, said loop being of suflicient size to receive the free end ofsaid other portion to form a keeper loop for said free end.

6. An extensible wrist watch strap comprising a flexible strap havingmeans for attachment to a wrist watch and providing strap ends forattachment to each other, one of said ends.being provided with a bucklehaving a buckle tongue and a loop for receiving the other of said ends,said other end having a plurality of apertures therein for selectivelyreceiving said tongue, a flexible connecting strap member attached toand extending between said ends to limit separation thereof, saidflexible member being positioned interiorly of said strap whereby aportion of said member passes through said buckle loop beneath saidother end when the latter is received in said loop, said portion of saidflexible member being spaced laterally from said tongue to provide forinsertion of said tongue into one of said apertures. 7. An extensiblewrist watch strap comprising a flexible strap having means forattachment to a wrist watch and providing strap ends for attachment toeach other, one of said ends being provided with a buckle having abuckle tongue and a loop for receiving the other of said ends, saidother end having a plurality of apertures therein for selectivelyreceiving said tongue, a flexible connecting strap member attached toand extending between said ends to limit separation thereof, saidflexible member being positioned interiorly of said strap whereby aportion of said member passes through said buckle loop beneath saidother end when the latter is received in said loop, said portion of saidflexible member having a longitudinal slot therein to provide forinsertion of said tongue into one of said apertures, the attachment ofsaid flexible member to said one end comprising a loop slidable on saidone end and retained thereon by said buckle.

DAROLD B. HICKMAN.

